The Water Elemental
by Koneko Yuy
Summary: Armies search for a very unique elemental. It's said that he alone can fight against anything. Can a prince win this elemental's love and save his threatened kingdom? Only time shall tell... yaoi, shonen ai


The Water Elemental  
By Koneko Yuy

Disclaimer: Don't own anything. Damn. It'd be fun to dream. ^^  
Author's notes: This is a total retake on all those fics where Heero's a prince and Duo's his slave. It gets... interesting.... ^^;;  
Dedications: This is being dedicated to Wu. Wu, if you want to know why, just ask me, k? Okie then! ^^

Once upon a time, there lived a king who had only one son. This son was his father's most prized treasure. The boy's mother had died bringing the boy into the world. The boy looked so much like his mother that the king never let his son out of his sight. His son needed nothing, for he had everything a growing boy like him could possibly want.

He was not alone in his father's castle, however. He had a small handful of close friends: his cousin, for one, with the captain of his cousin's guard; a solemn girl, once a slave, now running missions for the prince without questions but few complaints; a quiet boy, also a slave, but now free like the girl, also ran errands for the prince.

But of everything the spoiled prince had, he was missing one thing: love.

One day, the prince's father fell ill, forcing the prince to grow up to rule his father's kingdom. The prince's friends helped him out when they could.

Not long after the prince's father fell ill, the prince's cousin's kingdom became torn apart by war, forcing his cousin to flee his kingdom and hide in the prince's kingdom, followed by his ever faithful captain of the guard and the small band of bodyguards his father had left him.

The prince, named Duo, gladly hid his cousin, hiding him away as a slave.

Phobos, Duo's ever solemn friend, appeared in Duo's court shortly after his cousin's arrival, too early to be returning from her latest mission. She strode purposefully toward the prince's throne, one slim hand gripping the elegant hilt of her sword, a gift, along with her freedom, from the prince for saving his life when they had been younger. She saw none of the open stares as she walked right up to the prince's throne and leaned forward so her blue eyes caught the prince's violet eyes.

"Your highness." She addressed him politely in her soft alto. "Premission to speak to you in more... private areas." She lowered her voice a bit. "If you can, meet me on the hill by the river Shale after dark. Shini knows the way." She winked. "And bring your cousin and that dashing captain he caught." She whispered before pushing away from him and leaving the throne room.

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In the Maxwell kingdom, Duo's kingdom, a long and winding rived cut through the heart of the kingdom. A hill on the river stood near the castle like a sentry. Atop the hill sat an old oak tree. No one could remember when the tree had been planted, but everyone knew it was a long time ago.

It was to this hill that Duo's black stallion, Shinigami, led him late that night.

The full moon shone on the rider and mount, and glinted off the river, turning it a molten silver color.

Sandrock whinnied softly as Quatre, Duo's cousin, slowly dismounted. Trowa, Quatre's captain of the guard, took Sandrock's reins, patting the horse's neck reassuringly. Trowa's own horse, Heavyarms, nickered softly as Trowa led both mounts to where Shinigami was. The black stallion nuzzled Sandrock in greeting and nudged against Heavyarms.

A horse whickered softly. Duo glanced up and saw Firebird, Phobos' firey chestnut mare, silhouetted against the full moon. One brown eye studied the three boys a moment before tossing her brown mane casually.

Something moved in the shadows. Duo's hand inched toward his sword. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Trowa do the same.

A flicker of light in the darkness revealed the something to be Phobos. The light came from the ball in her hand. The red glow flickered across her face, causing it to look more etheral than normal.

"No one followed you?" She asked softly, her blue eyes resting on Duo, who shook his head. The blue eyes closed and she breathed a sigh of relief. The girl was taking a huge risk right now. She was of a race that had been hunted since before Duo was born. If someone came across thier meeting and found out Phobos' secret, the only way she would be safe was that of Duo.

"Why are we here?" Quatre asked softly. Phobos' eyes opened and she focused on the youth.

"Armies have invaded this land, little prince." She told him softly. The youth gasped and Duo looked shocked.

"Why?" Duo demanded.

"From what I've heard, they're searching for an elemental." She told them. "A special one, too."

"What kind?" Duo asked.

"Water, or at least that's what I've heard." She frowned. "The elemental used to be a slave in the Sanc Kingdom, but they don't remember the elemental's master."

"That's really useful." Duo groaned.

"It does seem meaningless, but..." Phobos dug into one of Firebird's saddlebags. She produced a sealed letter from the saddlebags and handed it to Duo. "Wufei's in Ethin and there's a water elemental there that he thinks may be the elemental they're looking for." She told him, sending a ball of coldfire [1] to bob by the boy's shoulder so that he could read the letter.

Duo, using the red glow to read by, quickly read the letter. After reading it a second, then a third time, he handed it back to Phobos. "How long do you think it would take you to get to Ethin from Brana?"

"A few days, Duo. But that's provided I know where I'm going, I don't get lost, and I had a map." Phobos answered him after a moment's thought. "Plus it all depends on if I'm with anyone slow and my current mission is done."

"How long would that take you?" Duo asked the young elemental.

"Longer." She sighed. "But my mission's practically done." She flipped her green braid over her shoulder and her fangs flashed silver in the moonlight and a pale pink in the glow of the coldfire. "All that needs to be done is basically finishing up scouting the area. That's how I saw the armies, if you can even call them that." She shrugged, like it was nothing.

"How many men would you say are in the armies?" Trowa spoke up. His green eyes glittered in the moonlight as he asked the question.

Phobos looked thoughtful a moment before answering. "Maybe a couple thousand per troop."

"And troops?" Duo pressed.

"Maybe ten." Phobos answered without a moment's hesitation.

Duo whistled. "All those men for an elemental? What did it do? Rob a mage school?" He said jokingly.

"The elemental's supposed to be really beautiful. For a boy." Phobos paused to gauge Duo's reaction to what she said. He seemed to have no reaction, or so it appeared to her.

"I think we may have to bring this poor elemental into our ranks." Duo commented. He looked at Phobos coolly, causing her to swallow nervously. "And besides, if he is as beautiful as the Lady Phoenix tells us he is, he'll make a lovely additon to my harem."

"Sir?" Phobos' soft alto was even softer, her blue eyes reflecting the soft glow of the ball of coldfire.

"Don't question my orders, Phoenix." The prince warned.

"I'm not questioning them, Prince." She said. "It's just... what will you father say about it? You know as well as we all do that he doesn't trust elementals and what will he say about his only son having the most shy of the four elementals warming his bed?" Her blue eyes flashed as her words stung deep, reminding them all of the war Duo's father had raged on elementals. It was this war that had cost Phobos a lot: her freedom, her parents... The only people she had left of her clan that she knew of was her grandmother and a cousin she had not seen since the boy's birth. She had no clue if her cousin was even alive, much less where he was.

Duo sighed. "Phoenix, I understand where you're coming from. For your sake along, I'll be slow with him. If anything, after being a slave in the Sanc kingdom, he'll probably be very nervous with the things I'd want him to do."

Phobos smiled sadly. "Thank you, sir." She shrugged. "For all I know, he could very well be my cousin."

Quatre blinked. "But you're a... and he's a..." He stopped, confused. "How did that happen?!" He blurted out.

Phobos looked at him coolly. "It happens." She turned back to her prince. "If you want me to go get the boy, I shall. But I need to leave now to do so."

Duo nodded and helped her to mount Firebird. "Fare well, Phoenix." He waved her off.

She raised her hand in farewell and clucked to her mount. Firebird took off into the dark, leaving the three remaining behind.

Duo's eyes glittered in the dark. "It begins." was all he said as he and his companions left.

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Footnotes  
[1] The idea of coldfire actually comes from a book I read. It's a small ball of cold fire that is used more for light than warmth. *shrugs* My elementals in this needed something to play with and 'coldfire' came to mind. It works, so what can I say?

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So, what do you people think? Is it the most horrible thing you've ever read and I should junk it? Is it really good and I should continue with it? Actually, I HAVE gone on with this fic, it's just... not typed quite yet and I want people's opinions on this, the prologue, before continuing, if I DO continue. Well? What do you guys think? Give me your reviews. Onegai? It helps this poor kitty girl with stress over if a fic is good or not.... 


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